The Major Difference Between Social Media and Reality According to 1 Exhausted Mom

Despite what you think you know about a person based on their glamorous social media snapshots, their reality might look completely different. In a brutally honest post, blogger and mom of two, Shannon Peterson, reminds parents to look past the filtered photos instead of trying to compare yourself to the unachievable perfection.

Instead of posting a posed photo of her and her baby, she decided to share what life with a 3-year-old and 4-month-old actually looks like. "The truth is, this is who I am most days. Not a put together human who has her act together. Not a mom who can juggle working from home, kids, etc.," Shannon shared on Instagram. "I'm just a crazy person trying to maintain some semblance of calm while attempting to figure it all out."

In the honest photo, Shannon is laughing (possibly out of frustration) after spending three hours on an exercise ball trying to get her baby to nurse. "Our house was (is) a mess, my breakfast (lactation smoothie) sitting abandoned behind me, dirty hair and desperately in need of a shower (and five minutes without someone touching me), and at the brink of tears," she wrote. "And you better believe I VSCO and heavily edited the you-know-what out of this picture to make it look light and airy and 'fit my feed.' Because I'm stuck on the couch under a 4-month-old cluster feeding little dude who won't have anything to do with anyone but me."

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Instead of ignoring these difficult days, Shannon decided to open up about them in order to help other moms know that they aren't alone — despite what they see online. "Counting down the hours until bedtime and the kids are asleep, and then that first delicious sip of gin and tonic or wine," she wrote. "Here's to YOU mama, holding it together even when it gets rough. And even if you're not, you're still a part of this club of crazy."